


Subtlety and Care

by FrostyLee



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Christmasy fic, M/M, mentions of animal abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-19 02:51:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13114422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrostyLee/pseuds/FrostyLee
Summary: Will makes Hannibal's Christmas wish come true.





	Subtlety and Care

Will hummed along with the Christmas music playing as he decorated the tree. Hannibal was in the kitchen baking some cookies to be shared by the fire after dinner. It's the most domestic they've been since the Fall. He lowered his hand from hanging the next ornament with a sad smile.

Why was murder always the solution between them? It had been Garret Jacob Hobbs first. That kill was the one that started him on the path that led to where he was now. Matthew Brown followed; he didn't actually die due to Jack coming to the rescue, but to be fair he did attempt to kill Hannibal on Will’s word. Abel Gideon’s death was both to prove a point and to punish Frederick.

The Great Red Dragon was their most recent kill together.

Hannibal was always disappointed when Will refused to go out with him, but Francis Dolarhyde was a life or death situation. Anyone else now would just be murder, even though Hannibal was careful to only pick out other criminals who escaped the broken system

“Be safe,” Will always tells him when he leaves.

“Will do,” is always the reply. Will can't figure out if that's supposed to be a pun or if it's just Hannibal confirming he will do as Will asked.

Hands moved up to rest upon Will’s hips from behind, and he couldn’t help but relax. His husband was always there to help him when he couldn’t do it himself. Hannibal’s gentlest touches were the easiest way to do so.

“Will, are you finished?” Hannibal was talking about the tree, but it was plain to see that it was still a little bare. Folding his hand over Will’s brought him pleasure as Hannibal helped hang the ornament still dangling between the other’s fingers. “Take a break.” A shiver ran through Will as the words were whispered into his ear. “Come with me?”

Will know what he meant. God, did he know. His irritation grew more every time he told Hannibal no, but the tightness in his chest tonight was new. It was worse than anything he'd felt before in his life. It may have been why his next response came as a surprise to the both of them.

“Yes.” 

What better way to get into the holiday spirit than to grant Hannibal the one thing he'd been craving the most: Will by his side, killing their target beautifully and making the kill a work of art. 

“I pick who,” Will stated. There'd be no negotiations on that. Either Will chose or Hannibal would be on his own, and back to square one trying to convince Will.

Instead of answering, Hannibal pulled his partner into a deep kiss. Only after they were both flushed and left wanting did Hannibal pull away. He planned for much more after they killed together.

“Take time to finish decorating, as long as you need. I'll finish up in the kitchen as you do so, dear Will. Come find me afterwards.” No more needed to be said as he left for the kitchen.

Will definitely needed a breather. What better way than doing as Hannibal said? He dug through the box to find more bulbs for the tree. The tinsel was already in place and some bulbs along with other knick knacks were carefully hung. As he worked, more thoughts about who they would make into art came about. Will remembered an article in the newspaper that day about someone abusing animals, especially the breeds with a bad name. He hoped Hannibal hadn't thrown it away.

When it was all settled, Will found the other in the kitchen where he said he’d be. Their eyes met.

“Brie O’Malley,” Will said.

A feral grin spread across Hannibal’s lips. They were always on the same page about everything. Why did Will think he needed an explanation for this?

“Wonderful. When and how?” Hannibal asked. That was the question, wasn't it? A very loaded one too. 

Hannibal knew what Will felt during kills but he himself couldn't let it go. They had connected more than ever when they killed the Great Red Dragon as a team. As one.

The thought of another shared kill made Hannibal shiver in anticipation. More of his sweet Will killing was one thing, but him actively liking it enough to keep doing it alongside Hannibal was something else entirely. The person hurting those innocent animals would be one of the last steps to Will becoming his true self. He'd been denying it for quite some time.

“Tonight, with one of your cooking knives?” Will asked. He was flattered that Hannibal was allowing him such freedoms but he'd let Hannibal take the lead while he could. After this, he knew the other man would cease letting him go back into his shell. 

What was it Hannibal had said before? Don't retreat. Well, Will was finally done with retreating. One thing would always lead to another in some way, as long as Hannibal had a say.

“He deserves less than nothing,” Will said, more to himself than to Hannibal. “After what he did, I won't allow him to come into this house.”

Hannibal watched him with dark eyes. “Please, choose a knife that feels right to you. I shall do the same. We’ll grab our coats afterwards and head into the heart of the city.” Hannibal’s grin widened as Will’s fingers danced along the handles, before settling on one of the knives. “Shall we bring Brahms?”

Brahms, a Dalmatian, was always excited to be with his humans and always managed to make Will smile with his goofiness. Hannibal had also been teaching him to attack and defend should the occasion arise that neither of them were suited to do so themselves. The sound of his name had the dog lifting his head in their direction, his tail thumping gently on the floor. The sound echoed throughout the mostly quiet house.

Will clicked his tongue and the dog jumped from his bed to sit proudly next to his human. A nice ear scratch later, the three of them were off. Hannibal wrapped an arm around Will’s waist and let Will lean against him while the other hand held onto Brahms’ leash. The Dalmatian was well behaved for being so young, but that was Will’s doing of correcting bad behavior and giving treats for good behavior. Hannibal was always impressed with how naturally the animals obeyed him.

It was a quiet evening as the two strolled the streets like an old married couple. The thought had Will chuckling and clinging tighter to Hannibal. Will couldn't think of anything else better on his finger than Hannibal’s ring. He sighed happily as they settled on a park bench together, to await their prey. After sitting for a moment, he kissed the man on the cheek.

“This is really nice, Hannibal.”

“It’s about to get better, Will.”

Both their eyes followed movements of an individual who was approaching. Brahms perked up from where he'd been laying to growl low. Will gave a sharp whistle to Brahms, making him stop growling but not stopping him from tracking the stranger’s movements.

“What a well behaved little thing. Do you mind if I pet him?” As the man reached down, the two recognized him as the one they were looking for. The Dalmatian gave another low growl, and Hannibal pulled him away to give the two some space.

“He's not friendly with strangers. I apologize, Mister. . .”

“O’Malley. Brie O’Malley.” Brie supplied all too happily. “I help animals you see. Train the viciousness right out of them and they come home perfectly behaved. None of this ‘stranger danger’ nonsense everyone keeps talking about with their animals. I've provided a way to help with that though.”

“Would you be able to show me? Right now?” Will could be forward when he had to be. As of this moment, it's exactly how he needed to be with this horrid person. Brie nodded a little too eagerly, and led him around the corner to his own home.

Brahms turned to see his human missing along with the stranger. He barked as he tugged Hannibal with all his might. Snow started falling and it just made the Dalmatian work faster to find Will, despite Hannibal’s strength and his refusal to be pulled. Hannibal took his time to enjoy watching the snowflakes fall.

They eventually came to an apartment complex with the main door left open. Hannibal noted that the lock had been blocked, and felt a swell of pride at Will’s forward thinking. Hannibal had no need to actively search for their target as Brahms was doing a good job leading based on Will’s scent.

Their final destination was closed to them. The door was locked and they could hear what they assumed to be a fight. Hannibal reached down to pet Brahms, and then unhooked the leash from his collar.

Will was just on the other side of the door, fighting to keep the whip from being struck again him or the poor dog chained to the radiator under the window. He threw Brie against the kitchen counter, and pinned the man's arms above his head. Brie anticipated the move and knocked his head against Will’s own.

Will hit the ground and struggled to get back up, still conscious enough to see Brie coming at him. Brie was wrapping the whip around his hand, preparing to strangle Will. The man's dark, dark eyes only had murder and admiration in them. They made Will’s skin crawl.

“Of course you already knew. The knife, the same darkness in you... I could tell, you know? It was easy. That’s why I chose you over the other one. I knew he could take me down without blinking, but you? You struggle and rebel at the thought of murder.” Brie circled Will, and Will matched the movements step for step.

“He’s not the one you should worry about.”

Brahms leapt down from the small window above the doorway. He tackled Brie to the ground, getting the man’s throat between his jaws.

“You should worry more about what my dog is gonna do,” Will rose his eyebrows at him. 

At any sudden motions, Brahms would have Brie dead. Will wasn't too worried when he unlocked the door. Hannibal was standing there with a wicked smile, the leash folded nicely in his grip. 

“He's mine,” Will demanded. The only answer he got was a nod to go along with the smile. Hannibal entered and closed the door behind himself as Will went back to the kitchen, finding his knife. 

He spoke to Brie softly but not without hate, kneeling over him. “I'm going to cut you into tiny pieces. That’s only after I tear your back to shreds using the whip you've used on countless animals, and the other various tools you kindly showed to me.” He stood but not before forcing the knife through Brie’s thigh. The man let out a strangled noise, his windpipe damaged from the dog’s bite. 

“Get Brahms and the other dog out of here. I'll be done in an hour.”

Hannibal did as he asked, only after kissing the blood from Will’s face. Hannibal took his time walking the dogs home. He attached the leash to the German Shepherd they’d found in the apartment, trusting Brahms to walk by his side. Only after he fed and watered the new dog did he leave again, taking the car back to the apartment complex. When he was satisfied that the job was done, Hannibal got out of the car and went to into apartment.

Will was still there, staring down at the blood on what was left of the man, his stormy eyes transfixed. The man’s body had been broken and bent and shoved into the corner beside the radiator, mimicking a sitting dog. The whip was around his neck, keeping his body tied there like all the dogs he’d mistreated. 

“Come back to me, Will.” Hannibal wound his arms around Will from behind, licking his neck free of blood. He interlaced their fingers to help ground Will.

“Where would I go?” A squeeze was given in reply.

“Nowhere now that we're together,” Hannibal supposed. This kill hadn't been together like originally planned. It was better. Will overcame what he'd been afraid for some time now, and that outshined Hannibal’s lingering guilt for forcing him to kill alone.

“It feels good.” It felt good to God too, Hannibal had once told him. Neither of them decided to bring that up again.

Hannibal’s Christmas wish had come true and, secretly, so had Will’s. Hannibal wanted Will to stop denying himself and Will just wanted to feel whole again.

Killing, he was certain of now, was part of them both.

Hannibal licked more blood from his neck, savoring the metallic tang of blood mingled with the natural musk of Will’s skin. Will could feel Hannibal’s excitement, but he would put his foot down on doing anything next to a corpse.

“We're done here.”

“Let’s get you home, then. You’ve had a long day.”

After all, they still had two dogs to take care of as well as Will’s own injuries in the struggle with Brie. Neither worried though, since they both knew Hannibal would take gentle care of him.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to my dear beta, Tay, who was able to make this possible. This is a gift to [Lee](https://wolvesamongstdeer.tumblr.com) for the Hannibal Holiday Gift Exchange, I hope you enjoy it sweetheart!
> 
> Always a pleasure writing!
> 
> *[main twitter](https://twitter.com/FrostyLeeGraham)* *[writing twitter](https://twitter.com/ValorFallon)* *[tumblr](https://frostyleegraham.tumblr.com/)*


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